Taipei, Feb. 11 (CNA) Indigenous autonomy and indigenous rights of land and sea -- two of the most controversial issues -- will be on the top of the policy agenda in 2011, Taiwan's government agency overseeing aboriginal affairs said Friday.
Enactment of the Indigenous Autonomy Act and the Indigenous Land and Sea Act were listed among 10 policy priorities for the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) in 2011, CIP Minister Sun Ta-chuan said in a press conference.
If the laws are approved by the Legislative Yuan, the indigenous peoples will be able to enjoy autonomy and utilization of their native land and sea, which has been taken away by the Han people that emigrated to Taiwan long after the aborigines but have become the dominant ethnic group on the island, Sun said.
There were 512,701 aborigines in Taiwan as of December 2010, according to the statistics of the Ministry of the Interior. The number accounts for approximately 2.2 percent of Taiwan's population of 23 million.
However, there have been tense debates between the government and aborigine rights activists about the autonomy act drafted by the executive branch, which would allow the establishment of autonomous governments and indigenous councils in various autonomous regions across the country but will not grant them actual administrative and fiscal jurisdictions.
Indigenous activists claimed the result would be a "pseudo autonomy, " but Sun said it will take time and a step-by-step process to reach a full autonomy, adding that he hoped the indigenous people would support the bill.
The proposal is the best and the most realistic option at present if no changes were to happen to the current administrative divisions and territory, Sun said.
With awareness of the "indigenous identity" rising among the aborigines, an indigenous movement has slowly gathered momentum in recent years. The Tarokos, based in eastern Taiwan, have been active in trying to become the first autonomous tribe in Taiwan's 14 indigenous tribes.
Aborigine rights advocates and people of the Amis tribe staged a protest in front of the Presidential Office last month to demand an official apology and respect for the aborigines' basic rights, including land rights. (By Chris Wang) enditem/jc